A “Freudian slip” is a slip of the tongue that reveals an individual’s innermost dreams and desires. There is hardly a person who has not come across this famous expression at least once in his life. However, many do not even suspect what meaning lies behind these words. In fact, they have an interesting subtext, which psychologists advise focusing on. In this article we will find out what a “Freudian slip” means.
What is a Freudian slip?
What does this phrase mean? And why do they say Freudian slip? This is a well-known phrase that implies a slip of the tongue that a person uttered unconsciously, for reasons unknown to him. The name of the famous Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud is mentioned for a reason. Freud is the founder of psychoanalysis and the doctrine of the conscious and unconscious.
The meaning of the expression "Freudian slip"
It is a well-established belief that people lie when they make a Freudian slip. However, such an assumption is far from the truth. Sometimes a person himself does not realize the reason for such a slip of the tongue.
In his early writings, Freud emphasized that the confrontation between the unconscious and human consciousness is the cause of neurotic disorders. In other words, the desire to experience pleasure conflicts with the instinct of self-preservation.
The psychologist published his book “I and It”, in which he identified three components of the human psyche:
- I (Ego) – presupposes the principle of reality;
- It (Id) - represents the unconscious part of the psyche, the unity of subconscious drives;
- Super-I (Super-Ego) - is responsible for the moral and religious attitudes of the individual, rules of behavior and moral prohibitions. Produced during human development. The qualities of the Super-ego are conscience, reflection and the formation of human ideals.
The superego and id are constantly in a state of conflict. This is the reason that a person in identical situations chooses a different line of behavior. For a short time, the It can prevail over the Super-Ego. That is, the unconscious dominates over consciousness. It is at such moments that a person utters a random phrase indicating what he was thinking.
Origin of the catchphrase
Many people are frightened by the prospect of being in an awkward position during a public speech or even when communicating one-on-one. The “father of psychoanalysis,” Sigmund Freud, is partly responsible for these experiences.
In his book “The Psychopathology of Everyday Life,” which is the basis of the theory of psychoanalysis, he came to the conclusion that behind random errors and harmless slips lie deep-seated mental disorders, symptoms of psychoneurosis.
In the process of analyzing numerous cases of such deviations, the psychologist concluded that “the boundary between normal and abnormal in the area of nervousness is fragile and that we are all a little nervous ... such symptoms have the power to disrupt nutrition, sexual functions, normal work, and communication with people.”
Gradually, this theory gained worldwide fame, and the concept of a “Freudian slip” is used not only in scientific circles, but also among ordinary people everywhere.
Almost one of Freud's many hypotheses became true for a large number of people. And now they are looking for hidden subtext in virtually any slip of the tongue.
The interlocutors try to find hidden meaning in the speech of the person who made the mistake. And this, in most cases, provokes difficult situations. Undoubtedly, this development of events exists thanks to the authoritarianism of the scientist. Moreover, followers of Freud's theory also vigorously popularized the scientist's ideas. It is worth noting that not all psychiatrists share the views of the famous Austrian.
Who is Sigmund Freud and why is he famous?
Sigmund Freud gained worldwide popularity as the founder of psychoanalysis. He influenced such 20th century sciences as psychology, sociology, literature, anthropology and medicine. Trained with the famous French psychiatrist Jean Charcot. Later he said that thanks to practice, he learned to distinguish between diseases and began to practice hypnosis. It was thanks to hypnotherapy that most of his patients were healed.
During treatment, Freud used conversations. Patients were given the opportunity to speak out, which subsequently changed their consciousness. The technique was called the “Free Association Method”.
Random remarks provided an opportunity for the observant psychoanalyst to identify the patient's problem and find a solution to it. Subsequently, Freud abandoned the use of hypnosis, preferring to communicate with patients who were clearly conscious. This technique has received widespread popularization.
According to the psychologist, psychosis is a consequence of pictures of the individual’s past, which are not so easy to get rid of. Freud put forward the theory that the fundamental basis of most psychoses is the Oedipus complex and infantile childhood sexuality. He was sure that sexuality is an indicator that significantly affects problems that have psychological overtones.
The scientist's judgment about human nature became progressive at the beginning of the last century. It resonates in scientific circles in our time.
Examples of Freudian slips and their secret meaning
There are many Freudian slips made by famous people. Let's look at examples of the most “famous” clauses:
- The head of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennady Zyuganov, said at one of his public speeches: “We are supported by several million rubles.” He was planning to say “people,” but he misspoke and said “rubles,” thereby voicing the thoughts that really bothered him;
- The head of the A Just Russia party, Sergei Mironov, making a speech at a meeting of the State Duma, misspoke, replacing “street art” with “arthritis.” The politician's mistake only caused general merriment. It is worth noting that not all slips of the tongue of Russian deputies are perceived by the public so kindly and loyally;
- During a televised speech, US Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts used the word "breast" instead of "best people." In addition to everything, he instinctively made an unambiguous gesture with his hand, depicting a rounded object. Despite the fact that the senator immediately corrected his speech error, his prestige was shaken;
- the presenter of the Vesti TV channel, Maria Morgun, at one time renamed the State Duma to the State Duma;
- another journalist, broadcasting sports news, mistakenly pronounced the letter “CH” in the title “Grand Slam Tournament”; her colleague, instead of “Chechen captivity,” said “Chechen member”;
- once US Secretary of State Candolizza Rice recklessly called the then-current President George W. Bush her husband.
Having considered the above mentioned slips, it is easy to guess what conclusions the “father of psychoanalysis” Sigmund Freud would have made.
He was convinced that slips of the tongue are an echo of the confrontation between two different motives that arose in the mind of the individual. The person is in some way trying to hide a secret desire and focus on what needs to be made public. He tries to displace his innermost desire from his consciousness for various reasons. However, it still opens as a disclaimer.
Practical examples
As part of his research, Freud identified several examples of the practical implementation of the designated phenomenon, one of them is the case of one lady who wanted to hide her irritation because of an acquaintance, but made the following reservation: “You probably made this lovely new hat yourself?” . In other words, she used the word "done" instead of "done."
There are other examples:
- Russian politician Zyuganov said during his speech: “We are supported by several million rubles,” instead of the word “people,” he used the word “rubles.” So the journalists were able to quickly find out what was worrying Zyuganov at that point in time;
- George HW Bush made a statement: “We have had victories. There were also mistakes - the usual lack of sex in economic... that is, agricultural policy.” This clause was adopted by journalists; they often used it in conversations with the US President;
- Maria Morgun, who held the position of one of the journalists of the Vesti TV channel, was the only one who misspoke and called the “State Duma” - “State Fool”. This expression has become actively used by users on the Internet;
Freudian slips are also common in everyday life. As an example, we can consider cases where a husband addresses his wife using the name of his former lover. Such a clause often becomes the reason for a scandal in the family; it assumes that a person expresses in words what worries him at a given moment in time.
A clause can be expressed in different forms, such as a letter, a set of words, a phrase, or a term used inappropriately in the context. In practice, emotions and thoughts that are suppressed manifest themselves unintentionally. This process is not controlled by humans.
Given this fact, it is important to be careful when communicating with other people. Knowing about the reservation will help you better know yourself and those around you. At the same time, all the secrets of a person may accidentally become known to his friends, relatives or acquaintances.
Speech errors according to Freud as a reflection of hidden desires
There is an opinion that Freudian slips are a public expression of information deeply hidden in the subconscious. Freud believed that most unconscious desires and aspirations are the root causes of mental disorders. And at a moment when a person himself does not realize this, reservations appear.
What is a Freudian slip in simple words? The expression “Freudian slip” means hidden desires that have involuntarily become public. A person cannot always admit even to himself his innermost and secret desires. However, on a subconscious level, these needs are localized and subsequently manifest themselves in the form of typos, slips of the tongue, and slips of the tongue.
The difficulty lies in the fact that it is not always possible to identify the reason for the formation of reservations and interpret them correctly. Of course, with great desire and commitment, all difficulties can be overcome.
Freud created the concept of slips of the tongue. It states that all speech errors can be conditionally differentiated into the following categories:
- clerical errors, misspellings, misspellings, mishearings, slips of the tongue;
- memory disorders in which a person forgets names, words, sensations;
- gestures and facial expressions that go against the words.
If one of the listed violations is detected, it is necessary to look for the cause of its occurrence. According to the scientist, “there is no place for coincidences in life.”
Often these kinds of speech errors are attributed to overwork, depression or emotional overexcitement, with the assurance that they do not contain any hidden subtext.
Meanwhile, Freud had a different point of view. By carefully analyzing unconsciously uttered phrases and expressions, one can discover that a person's actions do indeed have a certain meaning.
In everyday life, situations often occur that confirm the theory of the famous psychoanalyst. The most obvious case is with guests, when instead of the phrase “Well, come more often,” you tell them: “Don’t come more often.” This clearly characterizes your attitude towards these people. Perhaps, consciously or unconsciously, they are unpleasant to you.
Another striking example of Freudian slips is forgetting names and memorable dates. This fact indicates that such information does not carry any special personal interest.
Concept understanding problems and examples
If we take Freud’s theory, then he still wrote it with a non-therapeutic bias. Consequently, he assumed that the person who came a priori had some kind of problem. Therefore, from his point of view, all parapraxis, and especially reservations, are manifestations of unresolved unconscious conflicts and suppressed desires. That is, initially, thanks to such errors, we could suspect a problem area.
Now psychologists urge us not to understand the theory so globally. After all, in general, Freudian slips are errors that express things that are important to us. For example, many mothers, if their child is sick at home, begin to make slips on the topic of illness: instead of “salary” - “cotton wool”, for example. They also constantly make reservations, expressing their inner desire to go home to be near the baby. We are not seeing an underlying problem here, their relationship with their mother was not cold, and they were not “abandoned children.” These are situational reservations that go away as soon as the pressing problem is resolved.
The same can be noticed after a conflict, for example, with a wife. And half of the office is even starting to respond to the name Zina. And dieters are good at monitoring food-related reservations.
Therefore, currently in colloquial speech, the concept of a “Freudian slip” most likely does not mean the deep, repressed needs that became the causes of neurosis; and those facts that are more significant for a person than the actual process. At the meeting, instead of “my program,” he said “my frame,” and everyone around remembered that the man was still in the process of renovating his house.
Freudian slips in men and women: examples and their interpretation
The most “popular” slip according to Freud among both men and women is the situation in which they call their lover by the name of their previous partner. In most cases, such incidents are due to the fact that the person has not yet completely forgotten his past relationship.
Probably, this is exactly the explanation for such an incident that the “father of psychoanalysis” found.
